Thanks to the recent success of the Tampa Bay Rays and their manager Joe Maddon, bench coach Dave Martinez is often mentioned as a possibility to fill managerial openings. But the first team to come calling this winter is the Boston Red Sox.

According to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald, new GM Ben Cherrington called the Rays and asked for permission to interview Martinez to replace Terry Francona as Red Sox manager. However, Lauber says the Red Sox have not yet been allowed to speak with Martinez.

Since Martinez is still under contract with the Rays, the Red Sox would need permission to conduct an interview.

Joe Maddon has been adamant that Martinez is deserving of a managerial job. But we can imagine that the front office is not anxious to let one of their own go work for a divisional rival and take a lot of team secrets with him. On the flip side, the Rays risk having an upset bench coach on their hands if permission is not granted.

It will be interesting to see if the Rays block Martinez from interviewing with the Red Sox.

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You know, I think they should give him permission. For me, this is more about the man's career than it is about any division rivalry. There aren't too many of these jobs to go around. I know he's still under contract, but I think managerial openings are pretty special circumstances. I say let him interview if he wants to, and if he gets the job, I'll be very happy for him and wish him the second-best of luck :).